Starbucks integrated push promotes However-You-Want-It drink combos

Starbucks is conducting an integrated campaign for the release of its However-You-Want-It products in retail stores. Both the product, which consumers can use to blend customizable drink combinations, and the marketing push launched May 4.

The push includes broadcast, digital and print components, and primarily targets an 18- to 29-year-old demographic, said Chris Bruzzo, VP of brand, content and online at Starbucks. The push runs through June 28.

Starbucks' Twitter and Facebook pages are also driving users to the Frappuccino.com microsite. The portal encourages visitors to sign up for daily text reminders of Starbucks “happy hours” near them. The site, using Facebook Connect, also allows consumers to submit their own Facebook blends.

Social media is playing a larger role in this campaign than any previous Starbucks effort because the push is targeting a youthful audience.

“This campaign is more targeted at a young adult demographic than ever before,” Bruzzo said. “Every time we go to market, we build in more integration into social media channels. This campaign is more fully integrated into Facebook than anything we've ever done before.”

Last month, Starbucks expanded its mobile payment capability on the Starbucks Card mobile iPhone application to 1,000 stores nationwide. The company began testing the app last fall, when it released the iPhone payment tool in 16 stores in the Seattle metropolitan area and North California.